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Topics: Manchester United, Premier League, Champions League, UEFA
Ryan Smart
Topics: Manchester United, Premier League, Champions League, UEFA
Manchester United could effectively cost the Premier League a spot in next season's Champions League if their poor start to the campaign continues.
Erik ten Hag's side have lost both of their opening Champions League games of the season, with a 4-3 defeat at Bayern Munich followed by a 3-2 loss to Galatasaray at Old Trafford.
The latter result was by far the most damaging of the two, with Bayern the favourites to win the group.
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But Galatasaray are now in second place on four points, as opposed to United's zero.
Ten Hag's side may now have to win at least three of their four remaining games in order to qualify, with a home fixture against Bayern still to come.
The other team in the group are Danish side Copenhagen, who drew with Galatasaray on matchweek one before losing to Bayern.
If United are knocked out of the competition in the group stage, however, it could have a knock-on effect for other Premier League clubs.
That is because, starting from next season's Champions League revamp, there could be up to five qualification places up for grabs for English sides based upon league position - an increase from the previous four.
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Due to the expansion of the competition from 32 to 36 teams, UEFA will offer two extra positions to nations that have performed the strongest in European competitions. However, only the performances in this season's competitions will count.
The decision will be made in accordance with ranking points, with teams picking up more points as they progress further in the competition.
The race for the two spots will likely be between the 'top five' leagues (Premier League, Ligue 1, Serie A, Bundesliga and La Liga), meaning England could miss out if United fall victim to an early exit from Europe.
Other teams could still make up that shortfall, though, with Manchester City, Liverpool and West Ham all possessing perfect records in European competition thus far.
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And Aston Villa, Brighton and Arsenal are the other clubs who could progress to the latter stages of UEFA competitions over the course of this term.